No Other Name
Acts chapter 4:10-12
10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”
Peter's a changed man from denying Jesus to amazing boldness and a short amount of time we see such a difference in his life. This chapter is a continuation of what happened when the Lord healed the man born lame. Peter preached and 5,000 men were saved and then Peter and John were arrested. The Sadducees were particularly upset that Peter and John were preaching the resurrection from the death of Jesus.
This was the group that did not believe in the spiritual realm or the resurrection. They were the intellectuals of Israel, but now they had a problem. Everyone knew the man who had been lame, and there was no denying that this was a great miracle. When they asked the disciples by what power or by what authority name did this miracle take place, Peter answered.
Our verses for today are Peter's Holy Spirit-inspired answer to the religious leaders. Peter gets right to the point. The name or authority they were operating in was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This Jesus was the one the religious leaders had crucified, but God raised Him from the dead. By this risen Jesus, the crippled man was made whole.
This risen Jesus was rejected by the religious authorities, but He's the chief cornerstone. The cornerstone is the stone that forms the main part of the foundation of a building. What Peter says next is quite profound. This Jesus is the only way to salvation. There's no other option. There's no name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. In that one verse, Peter reiterated what Jesus had spoken in John chapter 14:6 before the cross when He declared Himself to be the only way to the Father. No one comes to the Father except through me. Very simple yet very profound. There's no other way to be saved.
To the religious leaders who listened to Peter's inspired words, his words had a striking note of fear. They had their way to salvation, but this new way was going to be a problem. Not only was it a new doctrine, but it was accompanied by miracle signs and wonders.
APPLICATION
This 12th verse is so important because it refutes the lie that there are many paths to God. In polite company, taking that route means that Buddha is a way or Mohammed is a way. It buys into the my truth versus your truth philosophy. But either Jesus told the truth or He lied. If there were other paths, there would have been no reason for God to send His son.
The "many paths" belief is often rooted in a refusal to acknowledge God as the creator of heaven, earth, and man. If God is the creator, then He will have the final say as to how to approach Him and how to be right with Him. I'm so grateful that God did not make it hard to attain salvation. God made it hard on Jesus that we may have access to being saved simply by believing in Him. One path, one way, one name, Jesus.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for the salvation that's in the name of Jesus. I'm so grateful that I did not have to earn my salvation, but it is a free gift through Christ. I'm so grateful that I did not have to earn my salvation, but it is a free gift through Christ. I acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only way that mankind can be saved.